Unbreakable Love (8 page)

“You look awful,” she blurted out.

Nate’s fever was gone and he felt much better, but he imagined to Jennie he must have looked like the living dead. Suddenly conscious of his appearance, he ran a hand through his unruly hair, trying to make himself more presentable.

“I’m trying out a new look,” he said, hoping to replace the look of shock with a smile. Then he followed up with, “I was expecting your mom.” His attempt to lighten the mood worked.

“I guess I know you’re not trying to impress my Mom,” Jennie said.

This got a small laugh out of Nate, but he soon retreated to the couch, unable to stand for very long. Sebastian appeared out of nowhere and settled in protectively near his feet while glaring at Jennie. Jennie followed Nate and crouched down near Sebastian. After she scratched him him behind the ears for a minute, Sebastian let down his guard and began to purr loudly.

“Traitor,” Nate grumbled at Sebastian as he rebundled himself in the blankets.

Jennie smiled. She was glad to see that his sense of humor was intact. She held up a large paper sack filled with food.

“I brought us dinner,” she stated as she walked to the table and began to take out delicious smelling containers covered with tinfoil.

“My mom makes the best enchiladas in town,” she continued as she fixed him a plate and brought it to the couch. Not wanting to sit at the table alone, she brought a chair into the living room and set it near him to eat her food.

They talked a little while they ate, but neither one brought up the homecoming dance or even school. For a minute it felt like everything else disappeared and they were just two friends catching up. After dinner, Jennie pulled out a set of playing cards.

“Are you up to playing?” she asked.

Nate nodded his head to say yes, and Jennie dealt the cards on the small coffee table that sat in front of the well-worn couch. Nate pulled himself into a sitting position and faced her as they played several hands. Jennie didn’t cut him any slack even though he could barely sit up. She easily beat him all three times. As she was cleaning up the third hand, she finally noticed how worn out he looked.

“Why don’t you rest?” she suggested gently.

Nate fell back onto the couch and pulled his feet up. He was constantly amazed by how much energy the body needed to fight the chicken pox.

“I’m sorry, I’m no fun,” he apologized but then quickly clarified, “but I still don’t want you to go.”

Jennie looked at him thoughtfully. “I’ll bring in my homework and stay a little longer only if you promise to rest,” she said.

“Deal,” he responded, burrowing even deeper into his blanket for warmth.

Jennie was gone for a minute then returned with her backpack. As she dug out the books she needed out of her bag, Nate took his turn watching her from the couch.

“Jen,” he called out softly. She stopped what she was doing and caught his eyes. “You’re really important to me,” he said. “You’re my best friend.”

A small gratified smile played on Jennie’s lips. They both knew they spent a lot of time together. They both knew their relationship was unique, but neither had given it the title best friends. It was an important declaration. Jennie decided now was the best time to tell him that someone had asked her to the winter formal in December.

“Thanks, I feel the same way,” she said and then quickly moved on before she lost her nerve. “Oh, and by the way, guess who asked me to the winter formal?”

“Who?” Nate responded, working hard not to let his protective feelings show.

“Kyler, the one from the basketball team.”

Nate knew who he was immediately. He was a good guy and Nate had known for a while he was interested in Jennie.

“And you said…?”

“I said, why not? I mean, I’m not in love with him or anything, but he’ll be a good date and who knows after that.”

Nate felt his shoulder muscles tense with the last part of her answer, but he also knew this would be better for both of them. Keeping their friendship intact was the most important thing. Come March, he had to be in her life, to save her life.

“That’s great,” he finished, putting the conversation to rest for a minute. When she turned her attention back to her homework, he turned over so that she couldn’t see the jealousy rising in his eyes. It wasn’t her fault Nate was struggling with the thought of her with someone else. He knew he shouldn’t have these feelings for her and he refused to punish her because of his own weaknesses. It was his problem and he would have to control his feelings so he could do his job.

For a long time he could hear the scratching of pencil running across the paper as Jennie worked on a math assignment. Other than that, there was silence. After awhile he turned around again and picked up a book he had been reading. Sebastian sensed an opportunity and made himself at home on the back of the couch so that he could watch Nate read. For the next hour, a comfortable silence ensued. Finally, around 8 o’clock Jennie stood and stretched her stiff muscles.

“I have to get home to watch Katie,” she stated as she began to gather her things.

Nate rose from the couch to walk her to the door. He still felt weak, but the food and rest gave him some temporary strength.

“Please thank your Mom for me,” he said as they stood in the doorway, “and thank you for coming to see me.”

Jennie smiled, but her smile couldn’t disguise her concern for him.

“I’ll come tomorrow after work for a little while,” she said.

Jennie put her hand on the door to leave but hesitated before turning again to face him. “You should ask someone to the dance. We could double,” she invited gently, trying not to push him too hard.

Nate knew there was no one else he would want to take to the dance, but luckily he’d learned to think before he spoke. “Let me think about that,” he responded. When he saw the disappointment on Jennie’s face he backpedaled a little. “It could definitely be fun.” He continued to try to fix it. “We’ve never done that before.” Jennie grinned, letting him know he was off the hook for now.

“See you tomorrow,” she said, finally walking through the door and out to the parking lot.

After she was gone, the apartment felt emptier somehow, as if she filled an ever-present void that Nate hadn’t noticed before she’d come. All at once, Nate felt miserable again. He shuffled back to the couch and took his all too familiar spot. Sebastian hadn’t moved from his perch, but decided to take the opportunity to stretch and then resettle in the exact same position.

To his surprise, Nate was worn out just from Jennie’s visit. As he’d learned in the last few days, rest was a healing balm and he gave himself to it. The last thing he heard before slipping into another dream was the whirring of the refrigerator running and Sebastian’s soft rhythmic purr lulling him to sleep.

Jennie came to visit him every day after that. Sometimes her visits only lasted a few minutes, sometimes she stayed for hours. Time passed painfully slow for Nate, but day by day, he began to heal. Finally, after two and a half weeks, all of the sores scabbed over and Nate’s doctor gave him the green light to return to school.

His first day back was the Friday before the Thanksgiving holiday and three weeks before the winter formal. Jennie continued to push Nate to ask someone to the dance. In the final days of his sickness, Nate and Jennie spent hours talking about who Nate should ask.

“How about Zoey?” Nate would suggest.

“She’s a ditz,” Jennie would criticize.

“Then what about the tennis player, Stacy?” He would try again.

“She thinks the world revolves around her,” Jennie would protest.

“Then who do you suggest?” Nate would ask pointedly.

“I don’t know,” Jennie would confess. Immediately after, Nate would try another name and Jennie would find some reason that she wasn’t good enough. After awhile Nate would ask playfully, “Is there no one good enough for your best friend?” and then the truth would hit Jennie; she didn’t feel like anyone was good enough for Nate. Of course, she never admitted it to him; instead, she would carefully redirect the conversation to some other meaningless topic and Nate would let her, knowing he was putting off the inevitable.

Now as Nate walked the campus he knew the days were slipping by, and if he was going to ask anyone to the dance, it had to be soon. During all his discussions with Jennie there was one name he’d purposely neglected to mention, Aria Tomassi. Nate knew it was unlikely that she would already have a date. She was one of those girls who was known for her brains and not her looks. She was quiet, smart and essentially invisible at Palm Springs High, but Nate liked her. She had a great sense of humor and could actually speak in complete sentences, unlike some of the other girls. If she said yes, she would be the perfect date for the night.

By the time lunch rolled around, Nate was ready. Instead of going out for pizza with Jennie, Marissa, and Braiden, he went to the library on a hunch that he might find her there.

The library was quiet. The librarian sat behind her large circular desk eating something that smelled like soup out of a Thermos. Two students hunted through the tall book-lined shelves and a girl Nate recognized from his English class who was walking toward the checkout desk with a large stack of research books in her arms. Other than that, the library looked empty. Nate was just about to give up when he remembered that there were several small desks in the far corner of the room behind the biography bookshelves. He quickly covered the distance and found Aria with her feet up on a desk and her nose buried in a book. Nate watched her for a minute before he approached her. Her frizzy black hair obscured her face as she looked down, and her long slender fingers, nails unpainted, wrapped securely around the book on her lap. Nate was beginning to wonder if he should bother her. She looked very intent on whatever she was reading. Finally, in the end, he strode up to the desk and cleared his throat, trying to get her attention without startling her. She didn’t seem to notice so he tried again.

“Aria,” he whispered loudly.

That finally got her attention, but she raised her head slowly as if she were having a hard time pulling herself out the book in which she was engrossed. For a second, she looked up at Nate over the top of her thick black-rimmed glasses with a blank expression on her face and said nothing. Nate smiled to himself; he could see why high school kids didn’t understand her.

“Do you remember me?” he asked.

All at once, her expression took shape and a shy smile came across her lips.

“You’re Nate,” she stated and then followed up with, “Are you lost?”

Just as quickly as it came, the shyness was gone and the sarcastic nature Nate liked so much emerged. Nate chuckled and squatted down, so that she wouldn’t have to stare up.

“No,” he responded, “I came to find you.”

Aria looked genuinely perplexed. She set down her book and turned her body to face him. “Why?” she asked.

“Um, I was wondering if you already had a date for the winter formal in December.” Aria’s expression shifted from confusion to skepticism.

“Why?” she repeated her earlier question; this time suspicion was obvious in her voice.

“Well, actually, I was wondering if you would go to the dance with me, you know, the one at the tram?”

The skepticism remained, but unable to mask it, her eyes also gave away her surprise. Nate stood there wondering how long he should wait for an answer. So far, it looked like she was just going to stare at him. After what felt like a long time, she finally responded.

“I’ll go,” she said, choosing her words carefully, “but I don’t know why you would ask me. You’re like a local hero around school, not to mention gorgeous. You could ask any girl.”

Nate liked her honesty. “Thanks,” he began, “but do I really have to explain myself? I have no ulterior motive, I just think you’re cool and that spending a few hours together could be fun.”

Aria seemed to mull this over. “What about Jennie?” she questioned, still cautious. “I heard you guys were a thing.”

“Actually, Jennie wants us to double, she’s going with Kyler. You know, the basketball player.”

“So not a thing?”

“I promise you,” Nate said “we’re just very good friends.”

That seemed to assuage her concerns. Aria reached down into her bag to get a pencil and paper. On the paper, she wrote her number and handed it to Nate.

“I guess that’s a yes,” he said, taking it from her. Even though she’d given him the paper she still continued to stare at him, trying to figure out his motive. In response, Nate continued to smile, undaunted.

“We’ll have fun,” he promised, as if that was answer enough. Pushing his hands off his now-stiff legs, he stood back up again. “Well, I’d better let you get back to your book.”

Nate turned to leave but paused. “You should read outside,” he suggested. “The weather is perfect.”

Aria looked at him quizzically again, but nodded before turning back to her book. It was obvious that she was still bewildered by the entire conversation. As Nate walked back through the library he smirked. This could be a very interesting evening. He couldn’t wait to see Jennie’s face when he told her about his date.

* * *

“The one with the bushy black eyebrows and the thick glasses? Why would you ask her?” Jennie questioned when Nate told her who he’d finally asked to the dance.

“Because,” he said, defending his choice, “I met her in class. She’s very cool.”

That wasn’t the word Jennie would have chosen to describe Aria, but at least she didn’t feel threatened by her. Somehow, word got out and the school buzzed with the same confusion Jennie had shown, but none of it bothered Nate. He went on with life, with his job. Carefully, he watched over Jennie, always hiding his feelings and always protecting her.

Thanksgiving came and went. Jennie invited him to spend time with her family but he politely declined. He couldn’t allow himself to get any closer to them. He already had to confess his thoughts of saving them to Celeste. She was quick to remind him that even if he stopped her parents from dying, another would be sent in his place and they would die anyway. He knew she was right and with fresh determination he pushed on, preparing for March. Two weeks after that, the day of the winter formal arrived.